HIP-HOP & THE POLICE
The hip hop police is a term used in the hip-hop industry for an NYPD department devoted to criminal activity within the Hip-Hop industry. Originating in New York and spreading to Police Departments of several cities. They are obviously mocked and disrespected within the hip hop industry for their overly aggresive investigations and constant stalking of high-profile rap artists. Usually the hip hop police don't take in artists to jail but offer them a deal to say a few names and they will be let go. Which unfortunately if you haven't noticed not many have been to jail as of late.
“The crazy world of these so-called rap artists. They're basically thugs who celebrate violence that oftentimes manifests itself during their performances.”
- New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Bill Bratton 2016
Hip-hop is one of the most prominent black-led phenomena in the culture today, and it’s long been under the scrutiny of a police department eager to justify its own invasive practices. Beginning after the 1997 death of the Notorious B.I.G., the NYPD created a specific intelligence unit -Rap Intelligence Unit (RUI)- focusing on hip-hop artists and their entourages.
“What interested me was I saw a lot of these guys that were really bad dudes in Brooklyn starting to latch onto rappers and entertainers,” he said to the Voice. “So I used to monitor the incidents, department-wide, of anything that happened."
"After the Notorious B.I.G.’s ’97 murder in Los Angeles, “everybody’s eyes became open” — a roundabout way of saying that people bought into the belief that hip-hop causes gun violence. Thus, the hip-hop intelligence unit was born."
- Former detective Derrick Parker, 1999
The New York Post reported that the police’s intelligence division was compiling a database to keep track of more than 40 rappers. “We are not targeting specific individuals or people in the music industry,” NYPD spokesman Brian Burke said in a statement that appeared to contradict the specificity of the database’s title: “Crime Trends in the Rap Industry.” “We just have a list of people that have been arrested already to prevent further crimes.”
- April 2001 — “Crime Trends in the Rap Industry” Report Is Exposed
In the spring of 2004, the Miami Herald released an article detailing the Miami police force’s rapper surveillance. Officers photographed artists as they left hotels and stalked the video shoots and nightclubs they attended. “The last thing we need in this city is violence,” said Assistant Miami Beach Police Chief Charles Press.
Since the NYPD had more experience with the rap industry, Miami cops looked to them for guidance. A Miami officer told the Herald that the NYPD led them in a “three-day hip-hop training session,” sharing a six-inch-thick binder listing rappers and crew members who had arrest records. The binder began with 50 Cent and ended with Ja Rule, according to the Herald. The biased nature of this method of policing wasn’t lost on some critics.
- March 2004 — Miami Police, 2004
Ask the NYPD for Help
Despite contradicting evidence, the NYPD refused to admit the existence of a hip-hop task force to the Herald. A Village Voice article released a week later finally got an NYPD officer to confirm, on-record, that there is an “intelligence squad” dedicated to the hip-hop scene.
In an effort to stymie gang violence, the NYPD started using videos as “evidence” to build cases against suspects. In an article published in January 2014, the New York Times reported that the strategy was part of a shift in focus from invasive stop-and-frisk tactics (long biased against young black men) toward long-term investigations of neighborhood sets.
January 2014 — NYPD Monitors Rap Videos
"Everyone (Officers) got a binder with information on rappers that have been arrested, outlining charges,"
"They were trained what to look for in the lyrics, what to look for when they go to hip-hop concerts, what radio stations and TV stations to monitor to keep abreast of any rift between these rappers."
- 2004, Miami police sergeant, Rafael Tapanes.
“All New York club owners are required to inform the Hip-Hop Police in advance if anyone on the watch list is coming in. They want to be there to monitor the crowd and in case any trouble starts. They don’t want any situations like the Suge Knight shooting. If something does go down, they want to already be on the scene. . . ."
- Unknown insider 2014
No similar squads specializing in country, big band, or opera? Just another example of outrageous NYPD profiling.
Sources: urbandictionary.com, slate.com, spin.com, variety.com, nationalreview.com
The hip hop police is a term used in the hip-hop industry for an NYPD department devoted to criminal activity within the Hip-Hop industry. Originating in New York and spreading to Police Departments of several cities. They are obviously mocked and disrespected within the hip hop industry for their overly aggresive investigations and constant stalking of high-profile rap artists. Usually the hip hop police don't take in artists to jail but offer them a deal to say a few names and they will be let go. Which unfortunately if you haven't noticed not many have been to jail as of late.
“The crazy world of these so-called rap artists. They're basically thugs who celebrate violence that oftentimes manifests itself during their performances.”
- New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Bill Bratton 2016
Hip-hop is one of the most prominent black-led phenomena in the culture today, and it’s long been under the scrutiny of a police department eager to justify its own invasive practices. Beginning after the 1997 death of the Notorious B.I.G., the NYPD created a specific intelligence unit -Rap Intelligence Unit (RUI)- focusing on hip-hop artists and their entourages.
“What interested me was I saw a lot of these guys that were really bad dudes in Brooklyn starting to latch onto rappers and entertainers,” he said to the Voice. “So I used to monitor the incidents, department-wide, of anything that happened."
"After the Notorious B.I.G.’s ’97 murder in Los Angeles, “everybody’s eyes became open” — a roundabout way of saying that people bought into the belief that hip-hop causes gun violence. Thus, the hip-hop intelligence unit was born."
- Former detective Derrick Parker, 1999
The New York Post reported that the police’s intelligence division was compiling a database to keep track of more than 40 rappers. “We are not targeting specific individuals or people in the music industry,” NYPD spokesman Brian Burke said in a statement that appeared to contradict the specificity of the database’s title: “Crime Trends in the Rap Industry.” “We just have a list of people that have been arrested already to prevent further crimes.”
- April 2001 — “Crime Trends in the Rap Industry” Report Is Exposed
In the spring of 2004, the Miami Herald released an article detailing the Miami police force’s rapper surveillance. Officers photographed artists as they left hotels and stalked the video shoots and nightclubs they attended. “The last thing we need in this city is violence,” said Assistant Miami Beach Police Chief Charles Press.
Since the NYPD had more experience with the rap industry, Miami cops looked to them for guidance. A Miami officer told the Herald that the NYPD led them in a “three-day hip-hop training session,” sharing a six-inch-thick binder listing rappers and crew members who had arrest records. The binder began with 50 Cent and ended with Ja Rule, according to the Herald. The biased nature of this method of policing wasn’t lost on some critics.
- March 2004 — Miami Police, 2004
Ask the NYPD for Help
Despite contradicting evidence, the NYPD refused to admit the existence of a hip-hop task force to the Herald. A Village Voice article released a week later finally got an NYPD officer to confirm, on-record, that there is an “intelligence squad” dedicated to the hip-hop scene.
In an effort to stymie gang violence, the NYPD started using videos as “evidence” to build cases against suspects. In an article published in January 2014, the New York Times reported that the strategy was part of a shift in focus from invasive stop-and-frisk tactics (long biased against young black men) toward long-term investigations of neighborhood sets.
January 2014 — NYPD Monitors Rap Videos
"Everyone (Officers) got a binder with information on rappers that have been arrested, outlining charges,"
"They were trained what to look for in the lyrics, what to look for when they go to hip-hop concerts, what radio stations and TV stations to monitor to keep abreast of any rift between these rappers."
- 2004, Miami police sergeant, Rafael Tapanes.
“All New York club owners are required to inform the Hip-Hop Police in advance if anyone on the watch list is coming in. They want to be there to monitor the crowd and in case any trouble starts. They don’t want any situations like the Suge Knight shooting. If something does go down, they want to already be on the scene. . . ."
- Unknown insider 2014
No similar squads specializing in country, big band, or opera? Just another example of outrageous NYPD profiling.
Sources: urbandictionary.com, slate.com, spin.com, variety.com, nationalreview.com
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